Metal Sludge Gossip Board

With no Kix, is this finally the year cracks start to show? Booking Queensryche, a HOB-level act, as a headliner seems like a terrible decision for a venue that has 19K seats to fill. Is that really the best they could do?

--No special sets (anniversary/full album/etc.)
--No new blood (even Monsters of Rock has gotten this memo)
--No rare appearances/exclusives (meaning, why would someone travel to see bands that tour regularly?)
--No acts with newsworthy new releases (granted, this is tough in 2024, but there's no one even remotely buzzworthy here. Think Mick Mars, Sebastian, Duff, etc.)

Related, but the most interesting Sludgeworthy festival booking of '24 might well be at a progressive/power metal festival of all places, when Winger plays their chapter of the Holy Trinity in its entirety at Atlanta's ProgPower fest.

Thought this was about Marvelous 3. Same question would apply to them. Sold 0 albums. Now a reunion??? lol.

Maybe they should book Loudness

Looks like no more Fridays and the majority of the bands are on the MORC.

They must be doing something right. I'm friends with one of the M3 insiders and they told me that 2023 numbers were excellent. He said that 2021 was really bad (Covid) and that 2022 was still a little rough because things were still rebounding from Covid and all the BS surrounding that subject but that 2023 was a big rebound year in regards to the numbers. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens in 2024.

This years line-up is beyond weak........

https://blabbermouth.net/news/bret-mich ... k-festival

Everyone has seen these bands in in particular too many times. The question is, without KIX being a solid weekend draw, who do people in that region want to see play? What would fix this festival?

2024's lineup is incredibly scaled back for a festival that supposedly had a big year in 2023.

Wild Obsession wrote: ↑Tue Dec 12, 2023 9:42 am This years line-up is beyond weak........

https://blabbermouth.net/news/bret-mich ... k-festival

Who do you want/expect? Seems like a good cross-section of 80s washups to me...

Slim pickings at the end of the line for the genre. All major metal festivals are struggling to rotate enough acts that M3 can't afford to book. You'd have to go back to nu-metal to find the last arena act. Nobody filled in the gaps and everyone is else is dead or on tape including the audience. We're all in the dog years.

Bono Nettencourt wrote: ↑Wed Dec 13, 2023 3:24 pm

Wild Obsession wrote: ↑Tue Dec 12, 2023 9:42 am This years line-up is beyond weak........

https://blabbermouth.net/news/bret-mich ... k-festival

Who do you want/expect? Seems like a good cross-section of 80s washups to me...

Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks that's a solid lineup.

aznsquirt wrote: ↑Wed Dec 13, 2023 4:06 pm

Bono Nettencourt wrote: ↑Wed Dec 13, 2023 3:24 pm

Wild Obsession wrote: ↑Tue Dec 12, 2023 9:42 am This years line-up is beyond weak........

https://blabbermouth.net/news/bret-mich ... k-festival

Who do you want/expect? Seems like a good cross-section of 80s washups to me...

Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks that's a solid lineup.

I'm mainly looking at the "headliners" , Bert, Queensrych (and Night Ranger) are always on tour, why travel to M3/Maryland when those bands will probably be in your town a month before or after M3......
And IMO even the "D" level acts are weak this year.

Wild Obsession wrote: ↑Thu Dec 14, 2023 5:38 am

aznsquirt wrote: ↑Wed Dec 13, 2023 4:06 pm

Bono Nettencourt wrote: ↑Wed Dec 13, 2023 3:24 pm

Who do you want/expect? Seems like a good cross-section of 80s washups to me...

Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks that's a solid lineup.

I'm mainly looking at the "headliners" , Bert, Queensrych (and Night Ranger) are always on tour, why travel to M3/Maryland when those bands will probably be in your town a month before or after M3......
And IMO even the "D" level acts are weak this year.

Looking at that list last night, I had a thought.

I think it's probably true that your "Bret Michaels" and "Stephen Pearcy of Ratt", or even things like Last in Line are better suited towards festival lineups.

People might not want to go see Bret by himself because its "not Poison" but if they're going to a hair metal festival they look at the lineup and see Bret and go "oh cool, I'll get to hear poison songs", nice.